Georgia Brown's vs. Louisiana Express

I'm not from the DC area, so this may seem like a silly topic; I don't know. But I'll be visiting soon and thought I might find some authentic Louisiana fare there (more authentic than the Pacific Northwest, anyway). I've been researching Georgia Brown's and Louisiana Express - and am not quite sure which one to choose.

Thoughts?

BTW, I'm only in town for two nights, and have decided on The Source for night #2, after much time spent on this board...(thanks again for all of the suggestions!)

There is no "authentic Louisiana fare" in the DC area. Georgia Brown's is more a general Southern restaurant but not one I would ever recommend. Acadian is a a faux-Louisiana; upscale ambiance but not the chef spent all of two weeks in Louisiana. RT's is probably the best but even then it is just not in the same class as most food in Louisiana.

I recommend trying the many truly great restaurants in the DC area, e.g., Komi, Cityzen, Ciitronelle, Ethopian restuarants, Thai or Viet Namese restuarants,.... there are many great places to eat here but none of them are Cajun/Creole.

I'd choose neither. RTs is about the closest in authenticity, but I wouldn't call it great, although in their gumbo, they actually use a roux instead what most places seem to use (i.e., a mix of library paste and dishwater). You really are better off choosing a cuisine that DC does well, like Ethiopian, Viet, Salvadorean, etc.

its good for a local place that i can walk to, i love their crawfish bisque :) But with all of the great dining destinations in the area i dont know if i would go out of my way to get there. Where are you staying? its in Bethesda, so its not that close to downtown DC. If you are a local i would definitely say its worth checking out.

I'll second the overpriced on Georgia Browns, but I didn't think it was ok. I thought it was awful. $20 for fried chicken that had more salt than chicken? They stay in buisness because of their location and jazz brunch crowd.

Whoa! I'm convinced. I'm really intrigued by the number of references to Ethiopian restaurants. That's a cuisine I'm not familiar with. Which one do you recommend? I'm staying in Bethesda, but will have a car...

you like eating wet ingredients with your fingers and a stretchy piece of bread? go for ethiopian. cajun over ethiopian any day. how about some good indian food? raaga in falls church on rte. 7 near bailey's crossroads is really good and at a great price.

There are a lot threads on hee about Ethiopian food. Tyr a search. Some popular ones are Ete and Dukem, both around U Street and 12th. They are all very informal and be ready to eat with your hands (part of the fun).

There are a ton of really nice Ethiopian places in the DC area. A lot of their food is stew-ish and comes out ladled onto a platter covered with a kind of bread called 'injera'. http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/...

If you decide to try it, I recommend getting a sampler platter with as many different items as you care to try. I'm a meat eater, but I think they have really fantastic vegetarian dishes.

I'm one of many people in DC who loves Ethiopian food. On Ninth St in DC (between T and U) on the same block are two of the best. Queen Makeda and Etete. At Queen Makeda, I recommend the red lentils, greens, and the yebeg alicha (lamb curry). But the food is so cheap you might as well ask for a parade of food like the shiro, gored gored, carrots, cabbage, tibs wat, salad.

At Etete, go for the fastening food platter (vegetarian), add the fish, and an order of derek tibs.